Crocodile Dundee | |
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Australian theatrical release poster, whose artwork was also used for non-US posters
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Directed by | Peter Faiman |
Produced by | John Cornell |
Screenplay by |
Paul Hogan Ken Shadie John Cornell |
Story by | Paul Hogan |
Starring |
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Music by | Peter Best |
Cinematography | Russell Boyd |
Edited by | David Stiven |
Production
company |
Rimfire Films
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Distributed by |
Paramount Pictures (North America) 20th Century Fox (International) |
Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes (Australia) 98 minutes (International) |
Country | Australia United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8.8 million |
Box office | $328 million |
Crocodile Dundee (stylized as "Crocodile" Dundee in the U.S.) is a 1986 Australian-American comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee. Hogan's future wife Linda Kozlowski portrayed Sue Charlton.
Inspired by the true life exploits of Rod Ansell, the film was made on a budget of under $10 million as a deliberate attempt to make a commercial Australian film that would appeal to a mainstream American audience, but proved to be a worldwide phenomenon. Released on 30 April 1986 in Australia, and on 26 September 1986 in the United States, it was the second-highest-grossing film in the United States in that year and went on to become the second-highest grossing film worldwide at the box office as well, with an estimated 46 million tickets sold in the US.
There are two versions of the film: the Australian version, and an international version, which had much of the Australian slang replaced with more commonly understood terms, and was slightly shorter. Although the film was a hit both in Australia and abroad, it became controversial with some Australian critics and audiences–who resented the image of Australians as being ocker.
The first scenes were filmed in the small town of McKinlay in Queensland. The hotel has original warped and polished hardwood floors. There are no crocodiles in the area as it's in the outback with no major water source.
Crocodile Dundee was followed by two sequels: Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), although both films failed to match the critical success of the predecessor.
Sue Charlton is a feature writer for Newsday (which her father owns) and is dating her editor, Richard Mason. She travels to Walkabout Creek, a small hamlet in the Northern Territory of Australia, to meet Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee, a bushman reported to have lost half a leg to a saltwater crocodile before crawling hundreds of miles to safety. On arrival in Walkabout Creek (by helicopter due to its remote location), she cannot locate Dundee, but she is entertained at the local pub by Dundee's business partner Walter "Wally" Reilly. When Dundee arrives that night, Sue finds his leg is not missing, but he has a large scar which he refers to as a "love bite". While Sue dances with Dundee, a group of city kangaroo shooters make fun of Dundee's status as a crocodile hunter, causing him to knock the leader out with one punch.